CYRIL WONG

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DEAR JEFFERY DAHMER

Armin Meiwes put up an ad for a man
agreeable to slaughter. After turning away

five candidates, Bernd Juergen Brandes
knocked on his door. On their first

and final date, Bernd had his penis
removed, cooked and shared between them.

Armin said, "My friend enjoyed dying, death".
Dear Jeffery, how beautifully consensual!

Imagine it: "Would you like it steamed, fried
or simply raw? Also, where would you

keep my head in the morning? And what colour
will you paint my bones?" Imagine it!

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THE EXPECTATION

You may leave him
or vice versa. The possibilities
proliferate in the air
around him, then
spilling into the absence
he leaves behind.

You may lose
everything, or everything
may be taken from you.

Imagine fleeing your house
that is burning,
and your loved ones
are trapped inside, then
boarding a train with nowhere
left to go to.

For a month, maybe more,
you will not believe
you can go on.
Eventually, you do
but you will not believe it.

The evening has whittled
down to night.
You must return to him.
By now, he must
already be asleep.

You turn off the television.
You turn off all the lights
in the living room.

You stand there in the dark.
There is no such thing
as a perfect dark.

There are still the streetlamps
outside the window.
There is always
some light
seeping through.